Sunday, July 4, 2010

Wrapping it Up! The House, that is.....

Surprise, surprise, everyone! I’ve been keeping a little secret again. We’ve been secretly doing a little work on our house this week while the hubs has had some time off work.

Some of you may recall that last year, we put new siding on the house and added a large deck off our second floor where we often spend time grilling on Matt’s charcoal beast. Admittedly, the deck was not my idea, nor was I terribly supportive of it. Why? Well, frankly, I thought the deck should be downstairs off the kitchen and not upstairs off our bedroom. I mean, really, who wants to have people over for a cookout and have them facing your bedroom the whole time. Not me.

I did, however, grow to really appreciate the deck as a sort of sanctuary for the three of us.

That being said, for several years I’ve been talking about wanting a patio outside the kitchen where I could put my gas grill and a couple of chairs and be able to work right outside the kitchen. For some reason this spring, the hubs got it in his head that we needed a deck....get this....outside the kitchen.

Really? Hmmm....well, I wasn’t going to tell him that it wasn’t really an original idea. I find that in some cases, its better just to let them believe they’ve had a brainstorm and run with it.

And “run with it” is exactly what he did. Not only do we have a lovely little deck off the kitchen that now houses my grill and two of the chairs from our upstairs patio set, but it also connects to the back stairs with a lovely little walkway.

And that’s not all....

Our front porch has always consisted of this gigantic concrete block that came with the house.

(lovely, no?)

Sturdy, yes, but it also boasted a large gap between the porch and the house, that had a very rough edge with a pointy piece of metal sticking out. Twice now, guests of ours have lost their footing and slid a leg into that gap, leaving very nasty scratches and bruises. Frankly, I’m surprised those are the only accidents we’ve had.(view of the NEW front porch and a peek at the Adirondack chairs that need re-painting)

Well, no more! In addition to my lovely new patio, the hubs and the guys covered over the old porch with decking and angled the new steps toward the driveway instead of out into the yard. Now I have a nice respectable front porch, as well as enough room for my two Adirondack chairs, which will be getting scrubbed and receive a fresh coat of paint over the holiday weekend.

If all goes well, I may have yet another surprise in store....if I can get my butt in gear and get one more outdoor project done over the long weekend break. I’ll see you next week, hopefully with more news and pictures to share!(view of the new kitchen patio, complete with Mommy's grill)(a better look where you can see how the two decks connect together)

(view from the back of the house. on the left side you see the entrance to the upstairs deck.)

All in all, a very successful project! Hey Mom and Dad - what do you think of my surprise??

I haven't been around for a while and this morning have been catching up with your blog. The Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars look divine but I confess that I can't find the recipe on your site or through your link to Cook Eat Share...yikes...what gives?

Your house looks absolutely amazing! Those decks really change it up visually but most importantly is the amount of livin' you'll do out there. Love the idea of connecting the kitchen deck to the stairs for the deck you guys built last year. I have always enjoyed the progress of the home and craft projects that you have shared on this blog.

Oops...I guess I should have separated my comments into several for your anniversary give-away...teehee!